Tunnel ventilator



I. H. HARRIS.

TUNNEL VENTILATOR.

APPLICATION rILED'Dmu. I9I9.

1,409,545. Patented Mar. 14, 1922.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET l. Ein-Ill.-

NVE/Vraie l. H. HARRIS.

TUNNEL VENTILATOR. APPLICATION FILED DEc.z'a,1s19.

1,409,545. Patented Mar. 14, 1,922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

J'v n Hlarris,

UNITED sr IRVN H. HARRIS7 0F EVANSTON, WYOMING.

TUNNEL VENTILATOR.

To aZZ fia/1.0m t may concern.'

Be it known that IRVIN H. HARRIS, citizen of the United States, residing at Evanston, in the v`county of Uinta and State of Wyoming, has invented certain new and useful improvements in Tunnel Ventilatore, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to means of ventilating railroad tunnels. j j

In railroad tunnels it is now generally the custom of the railroads to employ no ventilating means for trapping or carrying the engine smoke and gases .from the tunnel, the result being that the enginecrew are often overcome and injured by these gases,which also annoy to a material extent, occupants of a passenger train. Likewise the. accumulating gases and smoke in a tunnel attack and material injure the locomotives and coaches, necessitating the r'employment of ka staff of laborers to thoroughly clean engines and cars in trains that'pass through tunnels. In the prior art smoke ventilating apparatus has been proposed fortunnels, but'as far as l am aware all of these proposed structures are objectionable primarily because of the necessity 4.of laborers entering the tunnel from time to time to remove cinderS, ashes and the like from the Ventilating devices. This work is manifestly very dangerous and can not be successfully and safely carried on without a serious interruption of traffic.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a Ventilating appliance for tunnels that will elfectively trap .the smoke and gases issuing from a locomotive passing therethrough to prevent an accumulation of the smoke and gases in the interior of the tunnel. The trapped gases and smoke, of course, carrycinders therein, which cinders in vfollowing the present invention are allowed to deposit, due to their specific gravity, upon the road bed, while the trapped smoke and gases are lcarried from the tunnel very rapidly. f

lWith the'foregoing` conception in mind, the invention contemplates the provision of an appliance of this character, wherein the cinders, ashes and the like carried in the smoke and gases are rapidly discharged fromv the v appliance without the use of manual labor,

such as has heretofore been employed yto clean the Ventilating devices.

In a more specific aspect, the invention comprises a ventilating device for tunnels consisting of a member positioned within a Specification of Letters Patent: Patented Ian Application mea December 23, 1919. serial No. 347,000.

tunnel vand spaced from the walls thereof to formv a vfalse top having a smoke inlet and a smoke receivingl chamber to receive ,the issuing gases and smoke from a locomotive the instant of the discharge thereof. The false top is spaced from the tunnel wall throughout its length to provide the smoke receiving chamber and is substantially coextensive with the tunnel. Said top is spaced throughout its length and width Vfrom the'tunnel PATENT OFFICE. I

wall, having anxopen lower Vportion through which the cinders carried inthe smoke drop uponr the road bed, close to the side of the tunnel. The distance the false topl is spaced from the wall of the. tunnel progressively decreases from its upper end toward the bottom providing asmoke receiving chamber of a tapering diameter, the reduced portion of the chamber enabling the cinders todrop from the same, but preventing escape of smoke through this confined space,` yet at the same vtime allowing air currents created by the passage of a train to enter the vsmoke chamber and assist in removing the trapped gases.

In the accompanying drawings I have dis-v closed the preferred embodiments ofmy invention, but manifestly the invention is subject to many changes in construction and arrangement of parts withoutvdeparting from` the spirit thereof.

In the drawings Figure l represents a view of a single track railroad with the appliance attached to a tunnel.

Figure 2 represents a. slightly modified` form with the appliance disclosed within thev extensive therewith throughout its length arek a pair of curved members 3 secured. tothe walls of the tunnel by stay devices .4t or like` means that will permit the members 3 -to--be 'held in a spaced positionrelative tothe roof of the tunnel. VThemembers 3V at their upper ends are separated to provide a space '6,' overfwhichV space 1s positioned a smoke and` gas deflector which likewise extends throughout the' length of thetunnel and directs theissuing smoke and gases from a passing locomotive into the mouth portion rthe smoke receivingchambers V15.

increasing in width toward the mouth S.-

This is a highly important feature of the invention, inasmuch as smoke and gases directed intothe smoke receiving'cha'mbers 9 are trapped therein while the open lower ends of these chambers permit the cinders and ashes todrop upon the tunnel floor. `lt will also be'understood that the smoke and gases fronia locomotive the'instant of their -discharge are trapped in the smoke chambers bythe installation of the members 3 and the deflector 7,' and these gases due to a draft through the chambers vare carried from the tunnel vwithout being admitted vto the 'interior thereof." The passage of a train through' the tunnel also creates air currents therein,y and these currents pass Yinto the chambers Qthrough the relative small open ends 10'as'well as into the mouth portions 8, serving tovassist in a rapid and effective discharge of the gases.

ln Figure 2 of the drawings have discloseda form of the inventionfas applied to aldouble tracktunnel. In this disclosure along'the sides of the'tunnedare the mem-` bers 11 which are supported by the stay bolts 12' and 'are' spacedfrom the walls of the tunnel. the same as the spacing Vof the members 3 in Figure 1. However', when applied to a double track tunnel. there must be a pair of the members 11 that are widely separated i and arranged' between saidmembers are the smoke and gas deflectors or turning devices 13 which eXtend `lengthwise of the tunnel throughout its length'near the mouths 14 of These deilecting members preferably have straight side portions 16 and'angular parts 17 for directing the smoke and gases into the smoke chambers although this is notv essential.

ln fthe accompanying drawings have disclosed the preferred embodiment of the invention, but of courseit will be understood that the same is subject to manyjchange's in the construction and arrangement of parts, and I wish it to be understood that l am not limited tothe exact construction herein disclosed. Y y

Y Having thusdescribed the invention, what lclaim is: Y i

1. A'ventilating attachment for railroad y tunnels comprising a supplemental roof cone Vso sisting of separatedmembers spacedfrom the walls of the tunnel throughouttheir length and width to providesmoke and gas discharge passages extending longitudinally of the tunnel', in combination with angular de'- flecting plates disposed between said separated members for detlecting the smoke and gases of a locomotive passing through the tunnelA into said chambers, the chambers being of a progressively decreasing diameter toward the floor of the tunnel to provide a wide inlet adjacent the delectors and a relatively narrow discharge opening at the lower end of each deflector for permitting solid particles carried in the smoke and gases to ticles entrained inthe smokes and gases en tering the Vchambers to be deposited upon the roadbed. i

3. A Ventilating attachment for railroad tunnelscomprising a'supplemental roof for the tunnel composed of spaced roof sections of a curved formation fashioned to conform to the' configuration of the tunnel walls, said roof sections being spaced agreater distance at their upper endsy from the walls Vof the tunnel 'than at the lower ends thereof yand having a relatively narrow continuous openingalong they lower ends thereof to permit the discharge of solid particles entrained in smoke and gases entering Ivtlie chambers formed by said roof members, 1n combina tion with detlectors adjacent theinlet.. tol

each chamber', said deiiectors each having a vertically disposed portion and a right angular extension for directing the gases and smoke into saidchambers. i

4. A Ventilating attachment for railroad tunnels,`comprising a pairfof supplemental roof sections of a curvedformation, fash-` ioned to conform to the configuration of the tunnel walls, said roof sections being spaced a greater distance from the upper ends of the walls of the tunnels `than the lower ends thereof and having relatively narrow continuous Vopenings along said lower ends," andf providing between said sections and the tunnel walls chambers of progressively increas` ing diameter, in combination with deiiectois extending longitudinally o-E'fthe tunnel for directing smoke and gases into the chambers at the point of their largest'diameter, said deiiectors each having a substantially vertical wall anda continuation thereof extending from said wall and overlyingqthe entrance to its smoke receiving chamber.

lntestimony whereof l afiix my signature. l

rRvIN H. Hansis. 

